Our listing process: setting the stage for abundance
The path toward maximum profit & fulfillment
With respect to value, form and function of a home, there are some aspects you can not change and many aspects you can change. At Bode Well, we focus on what is within our control. We chart a path from where you are to where you want to be. Our process emphasizes the importance of making the most money for your home in the most manageable way; we walk clients through the steps it takes to maximize their return, within the context of existing parameters, time and budgetary confines.
Our listing process is focused and hands-on—unique to each client—but the goal is always the same: to make the most of the sale in all ways. Selling your home should be a stepping stone toward greater things on the expansive path of life. Our work elevates clients into position for the next phase of their journey.
When we prepare a listing for a successful sale, our magic is in how we frontload the process. We evaluate the space in its existing condition and create action lists to bring it to its most valuable state. These detailed roadmaps set expectations and agendas for our team, for the seller and for any vendors and contractors we may enlist to support the mission. Together, as a team, we bring the home to its best-self: highest price, most beneficial buyer match, ideal balance between input and output and readiness for a smooth transition to the next owner.
From minor upgrades to full-scale renovations, we prepare each aspect down to the entry hardware and curb experience. Then—when the listing is live—we let go, trusting that the work we have done will match us well with the right buyer. We trust in the process after all that has been done. Game on!
The journey may feel daunting once you see how much ground we can cover as a cooperative team, but no need to worry—we take it one step at a time. Every part of our process is strategic and a path toward something greater—read on to see exactly how we get there.
1. We assess the needs of the client
Our first step is always to understand the temperament, needs and goals of our clients—on both a practical and a spiritual level. We go deep, shining light on the reason behind the reason. Once we understand our clients “why,” we can truly begin to assist in a meaningful transition. Why are you leaving this space, and what are you moving toward? What is your timeline? What are the fixed points and where are the edges soft? Is it important to get the home on the market and sell quickly? Will we be supporting you in your new home search? What does it feel like to live in your next house?
“The dream in your heart may be bigger than the environment in which you find yourself. Sometimes you have to get out of that environment to see that dream fulfilled. It’s like planting an oak sapling in a pot. Once it becomes rootbound, its continued growth becomes limited. It needs a great space to become and mighty oak. So do you.”
2. We evaluate the property
After we chart the path of the client, we clarify the opportunities within the home. We evaluate the property with a market-oriented point of view, identifying the strengths and potential drawbacks of the space and asking the questions buyers care about.
One of the most important conversations we will have at this stage centers on home improvements, both large and small. Strategic upgrades are key to creating an elevated feeling, which in turn will attract the highest profit possible for the home. We team up with our clients to determine their bandwidth for involvement, the level of improvement and temporary disruption they are comfortable with and how cost will be managed. For clients looking to make improvements without tapping into liquidity, we offer Compass Concierge: a source of interest-free, up-front cash. Through this program, renovations are paid from the proceeds of the sale as a line item at closing.
From there, we begin to establish the highest and most compelling use of the space. We make a preliminary list of recommendations for market preparation and map out a detailed timeline toward fulfillment.
3. We analyze the market
With the information gathered from these initial meetings, we determine the position of the home among the competition for the particular property type—unit composition, layout, buyer profile—and for the particular time of year, as seasonality matters in an urban market. Based on this data, we hone in on a pricing strategy that incorporates the recommendations for listing preparation that have been discussed thus far.
We establish a strategy for listing price that ranges from minimal-effort frontload to the execution of our full list of recommendations. Together, we will determine where we fall on that spectrum and develop a comprehensive plan to reach the target—with minimal time on market.
4. We educate the seller
Through this work, sellers will learn to think like buyers. We coach our sellers to remember what they loved about the home when they first bought it. What was life like for them at the time of purchase? We try to rewind a bit—to go back to a time when things did work. We aim to attract a buyer who is at that same original life stage—a person for whom this home will be a grand step “up.”
We recommend that sellers look at a few open houses to get a sense of the market and competition within a similar price range and value tier. We monitor the market to see the speed at which similar properties are moving within a similar price range. If we are working to identify a new property to purchase, this is a great opportunity to truly take on the mindset of the buyer—an exercise that allows us to generate allure and answer practical problems from the inside out.
“First we give, then we receive. That is the Bode Well mindset as we prepare for a sale. In order to attract the highest possible buyer, you must become the highest possible seller.”
5. We do the work
Some clients want to shop for renovation materials together. Some want to give us a budget and be involved as little as possible. Most clients are somewhere in the middle. We work hard behind the scenes to minimize the amount of time and effort our clients spend sifting through infinite isles of tile or pages of light fixtures—we manage purchases, workflow, contractor scheduling, vendor access and all the details that can bring stress.
The magic of our process begins subtly at this stage. By changing the energy of how the seller relates to the home—and reworking the way that the home is being occupied—a shift occurs. We think of this as an opening in order to attract the right buyers—with every decision we make, the flow of abundance opens, and then flows more freely.
We hold space and nurture the client to trust in the process—leading by example in the belief that we can create opportunities by being open to change. The relationship is more than client and consultant. We coach our clients to right-size their expectations and actively manifest the outcome that will benefit their future selves.
6. Together, we launch and let go
At this point, we have planted the seeds for a particular outcome and cultivated the space to attract the next owner. We set the stage for our buyer not just to show up, but to fall in love—and to be committed to an outcome that they have already visualized for themselves.
We have created a new energy, and we hold it in our hearts and in our minds with every call, text, email, showing and open house. There is a certainty about what we have created that makes for easy information exchange and confident decision making. We honor the life that the home will give to its future owner, and in so doing, make it possible to let go with grace.
Here, we have arrived at doing the hard thing—the act of fully releasing this chapter. It is understandable that many sellers have bittersweet feelings about letting go of a home. But when you sell by the Bode Well philosophy, you realize you are simply getting out of the way for something greater to happen. After all, life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change.
